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United States Patent |
5,618,037
|
Chang
,   et al.
|
April 8, 1997
|
Method for maintaining mailpiece integrity
Abstract
A method for maintaining mailpiece integrity in a mailing system when a
mechanical module experiences an error. For one category of errors, the
mailing system may automatically recover from the error without operator
intervention. For the remaining category of errors, the mailing system may
recover from the error with minimum operator intervention, that is, the
operator may be required to only remove the error producing mailpiece. A
motion control processor for an error producing mechanical module will
report a fault to its corresponding mailpiece builder task and the error
detector task. Movement of at least the error producing mailpiece shall
stop. The fault will be reported to the mailpiece builder tasks
corresponding to the mechanical modules having no error condition. The
mailing system shall suspend further processing of mailpieces upstream
from the error producing mailpiece. For one category of errors, the
mailing system will purge the error producing mailpiece from the error
producing module without operator intervention. For the remaining category
of errors, the operator will be required to remove at least the error
producing mailpiece. State machines are then selected to perform system
wide job recovery.
Inventors:
|
Chang; Sung S. (Stamford, CT);
Harman; James L. (Southport, CT);
Jacobson; Gary S. (East Norwalk, CT);
Kirschner; Wesley A. (Trumbull, CT);
Ramadei; Michael J. (Trumbull, CT);
Zuidema; Eric L. (Norwalk, CT)
|
Assignee:
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Pitney Bowes Inc.World Headquarters (Stamford, CT)
|
Appl. No.:
|
446162 |
Filed:
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May 22, 1995 |
Current U.S. Class: |
271/258.02; 271/258.04; 271/259 |
Intern'l Class: |
B65H 007/02 |
Field of Search: |
271/258.02,258.01,258.04,259
270/58.06,52.04,58.23
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
3626956 | Dec., 1971 | Sauder | 271/259.
|
4327993 | May., 1982 | Gauronski et al. | 355/3.
|
4799661 | Jan., 1989 | Nail | 271/258.
|
5314566 | May., 1994 | Gallagher et al. | 271/259.
|
5380109 | Jan., 1995 | Eckert, Jr. et al. | 271/258.
|
Foreign Patent Documents |
2230493 | Sep., 1990 | JP | 271/258.
|
Primary Examiner: Bollinger; David H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Reichman; Ronald, Jeffery; Brigitte L., Scolnick; Melvin J.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a mailing machine having a plurality of mechanical modules for
producing a plurality of mailpieces, without printing codes on the
mailpieces, a method for automatically recovering from an error, without
operator intervention, in a mechanical module comprising the steps of:
a) receiving a fault code from an error producing module;
b) stopping movement of at least one mailpiece in the error producing
module;
c) reporting the fault code to a mailpiece builder to control a plurality
of mechanical modules having no error condition;
d) purging an error producing mailpiece from the error producing module
without operator intervention;
e) suspending further processing of a plurality of mailpieces upstream from
the error producing mailpieces; and,
f) selecting a state machine to perform a jam recovery in the plurality of
mechanical modules.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of suspending comprises stopping
movement of the plurality of mailpieces within the plurality of mechanical
modules having no error condition.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of detecting the
plurality of mailpieces in the plurality of mechanical modules.
4. The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of processing a
plurality of mailpieces downstream from the error producing mailpiece
prior to purging the error producing mailpiece from the error producing
module.
5. In a mailing machine having a plurality of mechanical modules for
producing a plurality of mailpieces, without printing codes on the
mailpieces, a method for recovering from an error in a mechanical module
comprising the steps of:
a) receiving a fault code from an error producing module;
b) stopping movement of at least one mailpieces in the error producing
module;
c) reporting the fault code to a mailpiece builder to control a plurality
of mechanical modules having no error condition;
d) indicating the error producing module;
e) detecting the plurality of mailpieces in the plurality of mechanical
modules;
f) removing an error producing mailpiece from the error producing module;
g) repeating step (e);
h) suspending further processing of a plurality of mailpieces upstream from
the error producing mailpiece; and,
i) selecting a state machine to perform a jam recovery in the plurality of
mechanical modules for the received fault code.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of suspending comprises stopping
movement of the plurality of mailpieces within the plurality of mechanical
modules having no error condition.
7. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of processing a
plurality of mailpieces downstream from the error producing mailpiece
prior to purging the error producing mailpiece from the error producing
module.
8. In a mailing machine having a plurality of mechanical modules for
producing a plurality of mailpieces, without printing codes on the
mailpieces, the mailing machine including a document printer for printing
a plurality of personalized documents, the mailing machine also included
an envelope printer for printing a plurality of addressed envelopes
corresponding to the plurality of personalized documents, a method for
automatically recovering, without operator intervention, from an error in
a mechanical module containing a personalized document comprising the
steps of:
a) receiving a fault code from an error producing module;
b) stopping movement of at least one mailpiece in the error producing
module;
c) reporting the fault code to a mailpiece coordinator to control a
plurality of mechanical modules having no error condition;
d) purging an error producing personalized document from the error
producing module without operator intervention;
e) purging the addressed envelope corresponding to the error producing
personalized document without operator intervention.
9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of regenerating the
error producing personalized document and the addressed envelope
corresponding to the error producing personalized document.
10. In a mailing machine having a plurality of mechanical modules for
producing a plurality of mailpieces, without printing codes on the
mailpieces, the mailing machine including a document printer for printing
a plurality of personalized documents, the mailing machine also including
an envelope printer for printing a plurality of addressed envelopes
corresponding to the plurality of personalized documents, a method for
recovering from an error in a mechanical module containing a personalized
document comprising the steps of:
a) receiving a fault code from an error producing module;
b) stopping movement of at least one mailpiece in the error producing
module;
c) reporting the fault code to a mailpiece builder or mailpiece coordinator
to control a plurality of mechanical modules having no error condition;
d) indicating the error producing module;
e) detecting the plurality of mailpieces in the plurality of mechanical
modules;
f) removing an error producing personalized document from the error
producing module;
g) repeating step (e)
h) suspending further processing of a plurality of mailpieces upstream from
the error producing mailpiece; and,
i) selecting a state machine to perform a jam recovery in the plurality of
mechanical modules for the received fault code.
11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of purging the
addressed envelope corresponding to the error producing personalized
document, without operator intervention, and regenerating the error
producing personalized document and the addressed envelope corresponding
to the error producing personalized document.
12. An improved mailing system having a host computer executing a plurality
of tasks, the tasks including a mailpiece coordinator task for monitoring
the generation of a plurality of mailpieces, requiring no printing of
codes on each mailpiece, and a plurality of simultaneously executing
mailpiece builder tasks for determining the motion control requirements
for the plurality of mailpieces in which each of the plurality of
mailpiece builder tasks corresponds to a mechanical module in the mailing
system, wherein the improvement comprises:
a) an error coordinator task for maintaining mailpiece integrity when the
mailing system experiences a mechanical error;
b) means for selecting a set of error profiles for stopping the mailpieces
when the mailing system experiences the error; and
c) means for defining a jam recovery procedure for the plurality of
mailpieces when the mailing system experiences the error.
13. An apparatus as described in claim 12 wherein the error coordinator
task monitors a plurality of stages in each mechanical module so that no
more than one mailpiece occupies each stage.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention relates to a method for maintaining mailpiece
integrity in a mailing machine which assembles the mailpiece. More
particularly, it relates to a method for automatically recovering from
mechanical errors in a mailing machine without operator intervention.
Mailing machines that assemble a plurality of documents for insertion into
an envelope are known in the art. Such machines typically comprise: feeder
modules for feeding sheets into a mailpiece, envelope modules for feeding
an envelope, and inserter modules for inserting mailpieces into the
envelope. In using mailing machines, there are various types of errors
that can occur. The difficulty of correcting the error and maintaining the
integrity of the mailpiece poses a serious problem. The error becomes
further complicated if the mailing machine job consists of a matched mail
application wherein identification codes on a control document are
compared with identification codes on inserted documents to assure that
documents are properly matched. In prior art mailing machines, mailpiece
integrity was maintained during error recovery by requiring the operator
to remove all mailpieces in process from the mailing machine. Operator
intervention to correct the errors was often extensive, time consuming,
and produced a waste of paper.
Definition
As used herein, the following terms have the meaning set forth.
Segment: A data element including identification of the motor, solenoid, or
sensor effected by the segment command (if any); a command to be executed
by the motion control processor during the segment, and any information
required for execution of the segment command.
Profile: A sequence of segments whose execution by a motion control
processor controls a mechanical system to carry out a corresponding
mechanical function.
Mailpiece attribute: a data element defining a physical characteristic of a
mailpiece generated by a mechanical system.
Job attribute: a data element defining instructions for system wide
handling of all pieces in a job run.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the subject invention to provide an efficient, automatic
jam recovery method that eliminates the need for operator intervention.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide such an
automatic jam recovery method having automatic diversion of an error
producing mailpiece for greater convenience and integrity as well as
increased throughput.
It is still a further object of the subject invention to provide a method
for monitoring the presence of all mailpieces in the mailing system during
jam recovery.
It is still another object of the subject invention to provide a method for
maintaining mailpiece integrity between a concurrently generated addressed
envelope and its personalized contents without the need to mark and scan
these individualized items.
These and other objects and advantages as will appear hereinafter are
attained in a novel method for maintaining mailpiece integrity in a
mailing system when a mechanical module experiences an error. For one
category of errors, the mailing system may automatically recover from the
error without operator intervention. For the remaining category of errors,
the mailing system may recover from the error with minimum operator
intervention, that is, the operator may be required to only remove the
error producing mailpiece. A motion control processor for an error
producing mechanical module will report a fault to its corresponding
mailpiece builder task and the error detector task. Movement of at least
the error producing mailpiece shall stop. The fault will be reported to
the mailpiece builder tasks corresponding to the mechanical modules having
no error condition. The mailing system shall suspend further processing of
mailpieces upstream from the error producing mailpiece. For one category
of errors, the mailing system will purge the error producing mailpiece
from the error producing module without operator intervention. For the
remaining category of errors, the operator will be required to remove at
least the error producing mailpiece. State machines are then selected to
perform system wide jam recovery.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for maintaining
mailpiece integrity in accordance with the subject invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the
apparatus for maintaining mailpiece integrity in accordance with the
subject invention.
FIG. 3 is a representation of relationships between tasks performed by the
host computer used in the apparatus of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a mailing system employing the
subject invention.
FIG. 5 illustrates a mechanical module having a plurality of stages for
monitoring the mailpieces.
FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for the error detector task shown in FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As shown in FIG. 1, a mailing system 1 in accordance with the subject
invention has a central control process 2 and a sequence builder process 3
running on host processor 10. A motion control processor 4 is connected to
host processor 10 through communications link 12 for transmission of
messages between host processor 10 and motion control processor 4.
Communications link 12 may be any suitable communications link having the
necessary communications capacity for the subject invention. Host
processor 10 is preferably an Intel 80386 processor and will determine the
motion control requirements to be communicated to motion control processor
4. A preferred embodiment of the motion control processor 4 is described
in commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/327,246
filed Oct. 24, 1994, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Interface and drivers 5 comprises circuitry which converts the digital
output of motion control processor 4 into control signals having the
proper waveform and timing; to control a mailing system. Details of the
design of interface and drivers 5 will of course depend upon the processor
selected as motion control processor 4. Such design would be a matter of
routine for a person of ordinary skill in the art and need not be
discussed further here for an understanding of the subject invention.
Generally, in the subject invention, interface and drivers 5 will output
control signals to DC motors, stepper motors, and solenoids and receive
status signals from sensors in the mailing system.
FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment of a mailing system 1 in accordance
with the subject invention. In this configuration, the motion control
requirements are handled by a motion control process 6 which resides in
host processor 10. This flexible architecture enables the host processor
10 to implement the subject invention in a single processor environment
yet maintain mailpiece integrity without the need for a dedicated motion
control processor.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, central control process 2 includes the
mailpiece coordinator subprocess 20 which tracks the processing order of a
mailpiece in the mailing system and the error detector subprocess 40 which
maintains mailpiece integrity in the event the mailing system 1
experiences a fault. The sequence builder process 3 includes the mailpiece
builder 30 which determines motion control requirements for each
mailpiece. In a mailing system 1 with a plurality of mechanical modules,
the host computer 10 runs a mailpiece builder 30 for each mechanical
module. Details of using the mailpiece coordinator 20 and mailpiece
builder 30 to generate a mailpiece are provided in commonly assigned
patent application Ser. No. 08/421,120 to Chang et al., filed Apr. 13,
1995, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Referring to FIG. 3, error detector 40 maintains mailpiece integrity in the
event the mailing system 1 experiences a mechanical error. Fault codes for
mechanical errors are stored in fault table 26. The mailpiece coordinator
20 looks up the reported fault code in table 26 to determine whether the
error may be cleared without operator intervention.
Based upon the type of reported error, the mailpiece builder 30 selects
error profiles 28 for motion control processor 4 to control stopping
mailpieces in the mechanical module. The mailpiece builder 30 then reports
a module error to error detector 40. In the subject invention, when a
mechanical error occurs, the mailing system shall process any mailpieces
downstream from the error producing mailpiece that are capable of being
completed. Items upstream from the error producing mailpiece are placed in
a suspended state pending initiation of the jam recovery procedure.
Job attributes 22 define the jam recovery procedure that applies to all
mailpieces in a job run. The job attributes 22 include user definable
error recovery parameters such as whether the error producing mailpiece
should be regenerated, and whether it is necessary to maintain the
sequence and postal code grouping of the mailpieces produced. In addition,
the job attributes 22 may indicate that the mailing system operates in a
secure mode, that is, the mailing system 1 constructs one mailpiece at a
time for maximum mailpiece integrity. In a non-secure mode, the mailing
system 1 is capable of maintaining mailpiece integrity without printing
identification codes on a mailpiece or scanning identification information
from the mailpiece, even with multiple mailpieces in process.
Based upon job attributes 22, the mailpiece coordinator 20 will select an
appropriate state machine 24 to perform the error recovery. State machines
24 used in a preferred embodiment of the subject invention are set forth
in Table I.
TABLE I
__________________________________________________________________________
STATE MACHINE COMMENT
__________________________________________________________________________
BASIC.sub.-- RESTART Instructs the envelope printer to
ignore existing data. The central
control process assumes the
mailing machine is empty and
can start producing mailpieces,
i.e., resume normal processing.
REJECT.sub.-- RESTART Outsorts any envelopes left in
the mailing machine then
performs BASIC.sub.-- RESTART.
ENVELOPE.sub.-- RESTART
Generates corresponding
documents for select envelopes
remaining in the mailing
machine. Determines where
mailpieces are located in the
mailing machine, rejects any
remaining envelopes, and
performs BASIC.sub.-- RESTART.
CANCEL.sub.-- JOB Empties the entire mailing
machine of all documents and
envelopes. Resets envelope
printer, cancels the job, then
enters an idle state.
NO.sub.-- RECOVERY.sub.-- REQUIRED
The mailpiece coordinator enters
an idle state.
NO.sub.-- REGENERATION
Deletes any data for documents
that were produced, clears the
mailing machine, and performs
BASIC.sub.-- RESTART.
AUTO.sub.-- INSERTER.sub.-- RECOVERY
Clears all documents from
mailing machine. Determines the
location of mailpieces then
performs
ENVELOPE.sub.-- RESTART.
CLEAR.sub.-- MACHINE.sub.-- RESTART
Clears the mailing machine and
performs BASIC.sub.-- RESTART.
Maintains data.
ABSORB.sub.-- SHEETS.sub.-- EMPTY.sub.-- MACHINE
Absorbs extra sheets when
paper supply in printer is
depleted. Clears all documents
from the mailing machine and
performs BASIC.sub.-- RESTART.
ABSORB.sub.-- SHEETS.sub.-- RESTART
Absorbs sheets, clears
documents from the mailing
machine, and performs
ENVELOPE.sub.-- RESTART.
__________________________________________________________________________
FIG. 4 illustrates a mailing system 150 which may employ the subject
invention. System 150 includes the following mechanical modules: document
printer 152, pre-print feeder 154, reply envelope feeder 156, accumulator
160, folder 162, envelope printer 164, envelope buffer 166, flapper 168,
inserter 170, moistener 172, sealer 174, stacker 176, and outsort bin 178.
The types of mechanical errors supported by the error detector task 40
include a jam in the inserter 170, failure to open an envelope flap in the
flapper 168, and failure to open the envelope body in the inserter 170.
For these error conditions, the mailpiece coordinator 20, mailpiece
builder 30, and error detector 40 cause the system 150 to divert the error
producing mailpiece to the outsort bin 178 and automatically recover from
the error without operator intervention. For all other types of mechanical
errors, including power failure, interlock open, and misfeeds from the
pre-print feeder 154, the reply envelope feeder 156, or dry station 166,
operator intervention is required to remove the error producing mailpieces
and/or clear the fault.
FIG. 5 illustrates a mechanical module 42 that may be used in a mailing
system 1, 150 operating in a normal mode. A transport belt (not shown)
feeds the mailpieces 46, 47, 48, 49 in the direction indicated by the
arrow. Mailpieces in the subject invention are monitored in a plurality of
stages 50, 51, 52. These stages 50, 51, 52 permit the mailing system 1 to
control the integrity of a plurality of mailpieces 46, 47, 48, 49 without
the need to place identification codes on the mailpieces. Each stage 50,
51, 52 has a plurality of sensors 54 for detecting leading and trailing
edges of a mailpiece entering or exiting a stage 50, 51, 52. A mailpiece
must vacate a stage 50, 51, 52 before a sequential mailpiece 46, 47, 48
enters the stage. Under error conditions, the mailpiece builder 30 selects
error profiles 28 which will cause profiles executed by the motion control
processor 4 to control stopping mailpieces 46, 47, 48, 49 in each stage
50, 51, 52 of the module 42 so that each mailpiece 46, 47, 48, 49 is
brought to rest underneath a sensor 54 thereby enabling error detector 40
to determine the location of mailpieces 46, 47, 48, 49 in the mailing
system 150.
FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of the operation of the error detector
subprocess 40. At step 100, error detector 40 reports an error to the
mailpiece coordinator 20. In addition, error detector 40 reports the error
to the mailpiece builder 30 for each of the mechanical modules. At step
102, mailpieces that may be in progress in other mechanical modules are
brought to a controlled stop underneath a sensor 54. At step 104, the
location of all mailpieces in the system 1 is determined by checking the
status of sensors 54. At decision block 106, if the error may be cleared
automatically, the mailing system 1 initiates jam recovery procedures at
step 114 without manual intervention. If the error requires manual
intervention, at step 108, the operator is notified of the error location.
The operator should only remove the mailpiece at the designated error
location. At decision block 110, the status of sensors 54 is checked to
determine if the error producing mailpiece has been removed. If not, the
mailing system 1 waits until such action is initiated by the user. If the
error producing mailpiece has been removed, at step 112, the location of
all mailpieces in the mailing system 1 is again checked to ensure the
operator did not remove additional mailpieces. A check is also performed
at step 112 on the toner, pre-print insert, document, and envelope supply
levels. If additional mailpieces are unintentionally removed, the mailing
system 1, at step 114, will modify the jam recovery procedures to respond
to the operator introduced error.
The subject invention is particularly suited for matched mail applications
where a mailing system 1 generates an addressed envelope and its
corresponding personalized documents without marking or scanning the
mailpiece. To assist those skilled in the art in understanding how the
subject invention automatically recovers from an error while maintaining
mailpiece integrity, set forth below, by way of example only, is
pseudocode such as could be used to implement the method of the present
invention in system 150.
______________________________________
IF inserter jam occurs
Report jam to mailpiece builder, error detection, and
mailpiece coordinator;
Reject error producing mailpiece;
Stop printing;
Stop upstream mailpieces so that each mailpiece
occupies a single stage of a mechanical module;
Continue processing downstream mailpieces;
Load TIMER;
FOR TIMER > 0
Query Mailpiece Builder for status report;
IF Status = paper moving
Reset TIMER;
END
END
Query Mailpiece Builder to get location of mailpieces;
Execute AUTO.sub.-- INSERTER.sub.-- RECOVERY state
machine;
END
______________________________________
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the present
invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description.
It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the
precise form disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will
be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. The embodiment was
chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the
invention and its practical application thereby enabling others skilled in
the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with
various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It
is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the accompanying
claims and their equivalents.
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